ETW Staff– Mumbai
India’s largest domestic airline by market share, IndiGo and its co-founders, Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, group managing director of InterGlobe Enterprises, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 250 firm A320neo family aircraft. The agreement will become Airbus’ single largest order by number of aircraft.
Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo, said, “This new order reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordable air transportation in India and overseas. The additional aircraft will enable us to continue to bring our low fares and courteous, hassle free service to more customers and markets and will create more job opportunities and growth. The IndiGo team is energised and excited to herald this new phase of our growth.” IndiGo has previously placed orders for 280 Airbus aircraft (100 A320ceo and 180 A320neo).
Fabrice Brégier, president and CEO, Airbus, said, “The A320neo continues to dominate world market share and this commitment confirms the A320 family as the aircraft of choice in the most dynamic aviation growth markets. We thank IndiGo and its co-founders, Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia for their tremendous vote of confidence.”
Engine selection for this order is not expected to be made in the near future. The A320neo ‘new engine option’ incorporates many innovations, including latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together deliver 15 per cent in fuel savings from day one and 20 per cent by 2020 which is equivalent to a reduction of 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per aircraft per year. The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with almost 11,000 orders to date and over 6,200 aircraft delivered to 400 customers and operators worldwide.
